Powerful Illustrations Offer a Poignant Mirror to Our Modern World

Illustrator Stephan Schmitz creates digital art that reflects the trials and tribulations faced in modern life. His work describes different facets of ourselves, from how we view our bodies to our relationship with technology to dealing with family and navigating our career. The images are often poignant and don’t shy away from the things that are hard to talk about. But they aren’t overly dramatic, either. Schmitz’s understated conceptual work offers a way to for us to hold a mirror to ourselves and to consider how we relate to the subjects that he’s illustrating.

Schmitz is a clever illustrator who doesn’t think too literally about his subject matter. Looking at his work is akin to solving a puzzle. He provides us with a set of visual clues, and it’s up to us to connect the dots. This also allows for a more emotional response; in an image about depression, Schmitz refrains from making someone simply look sad. He instead illustrates a person who is drowning in the depths of their own head. While it still implies depression, it also speaks to isolation, loneliness, and a force that plunges you into places that you never anticipated. The result, as in similar works, is a powerful form of communication that resonates with many viewers.